Before the microfinance loans in mahasemam Ankamma and her husband had been making pickled mangoes for ten years. She made and packaged the mangoes and her husband sold and distributed them, they earned Rs.4405 per month. Since taking the loans they have doubled their income and now earn Rs.8811 per month.
They used the loans to purchase more ingredients (mangoes, salt, chili powder, tumeric, oil, and garlic) and to purchase more pickling barrels. They used to have seven barrels and now they have twelve barrels; each barrel holds 200 kgs. of pickled mangoes. Ankamma and her husband also started making and selling appalam on the side. Appalam is a dough that is rolled, dried, and then fried to make food similar to potato chips.
"Things are going well. My oldest son is doing his first year in college and we have not taken any loans for that. It is all paid for with the profits from our family business. We used to go to the government hospital, but now we go to a private hospital and the waiting time is much less. We eat meat once a week, we used to eat meat only once every twenty days. We have also improved our house. It used to be a thatch house and now we have made the walls concrete.”"
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